Chou
by Shirohane
Summary: Even if I'm not strong enough... Even if these wings are fragile... Like a butterfly, we'll be able to soar into the sky. Mild Taito.
1. Omae no Tsubasa wo

Chou

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Note: The anime/manga series "Digital Monsters" belong to Toei Animations, Bendai, etc. The author claims no right to neither the production nor the sales of the said anime. The fan fiction is written purely for non-profit fan purposes.

This fan fiction takes place during "Digital Monster Adventures 01". There is a light shounen-ai atmosphere in this fan fiction. If you are repulsed by the thought of Taichi and Yamato liking each other, please stay away from this fan fiction. 

* * * * *

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Just like carefree butterfly; riding on top of the shining wind... I'll come right now to meet you.

Yagami Taichi walked across the forest effortlessly, skipping over small boulders and logs with ease and grace. He stopped in front of a slender, tall blond boy, rather proudly showing the other child armful of mushroom he held.

"Saa, Yamato. Here are the mushrooms! Where is your share of food?"

Ishida Yamato quietly looked up at the energetic brunette, then waved towards the direction of some berries resting on top of big leaves. Taichi looked delighted.

"Raspberry... looking... things! How did you find them? It's really hard to find them in this forest, isn't it?"

"You are just not looking hard enough... Taichi..."

Yamato almost smiled at how pleased his friend looked with the berries. Nothing pleased his friend better than delicious food. Just like a child... So easy to please, to anger, to sadden. However, Yamato felt his mask slipping and immediately slapped it back to its place. Bad. Turning around, he quietly said, "Others... Have brought water and firewood. Jou and Koushirou are building the fire. You can rest until the food is cleaned and cooked."

Taichi flashed a brilliant smile, a smile that even lit up his big brown eyes. The smile was so different from Yamato's rare smiles that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Thanks... Can I borrow your shoulder?"

Yamato nodded his consent, and Taichi leaned against his friend's shoulder and closed his eyes. The forest in the late afternoon was serene, full of small sounds of life, but not loud enough to be obnoxious. Small digimon chirped and squeaked here and there, and wind made rustling noses as it passed through thick leaves of trees. Light shining through the thick foliage almost looked green. The sun warmed the skin gently. Yamato closed his eyes and granted himself a quick rest as well. A butterfly landed on top of Taichi's goggles as the two quietly slept.

* * * * *

After the humans and digimons have been fed and watered, Taichi happily ran around with the digimon with a soccer ball made out of weaved grass. Yamato quietly watched the boy play and laugh.

'I hate him.'

The sudden thought surprised Yamato. His blue eyes widened, Yamato desperately searched for a reason. Taichi was a really good friend of his. Taichi was kind, gentle, loved by everyone. Why did that thought came?

'That is exactly why I hate him.'

Why? Why would that make him hate Taichi?

'Because he is everything that I am not. That I will never be.'

Yamato suddenly stood up and left the camp site. Walking quickly and briskly, he reached the edge of a lake and plopped down, not really caring if the mud got on his jeans. He sighed lightly. That was it. He was jealous of Taichi. He loved Taichi, yet he hated him. Taichi was his precious friend, but he was also his number one rival. The other children and digimons loved him, respected him, trusted him.

'Even my Takeru...'

He was jealous of that charm, that charisma that drew everyone to Taichi and made him the leader. Yamato wanted attention. He wanted approval. Love. Acceptance. Taichi gave all of that to him, yet he craved such things from the other children as well. Selfish thoughts that were always there at the back of his mind reared their ugly head.

'I hate him. Yagami Taichi... He is the one I hate the most.'

Yamato jumped slightly as a big, warm hand came down and rested upon his shoulder.

"Who?"

He didn't even bother to turn around. The scent was too familiar.

"Me!"

The crooked grin that was sure to be there if he turned around, that soft chocolate-colored eyes filled with affection for his friend made his heart ache. He wanted it. He hated it. Which was it?

"Taichi... Leave me alone."

"But Yamato... You suddenly walked off by yourself; I thought you might have stomachache or something, you know? I was all worried."

"There is no need for you to be. I just wanted to walk a little by myself."

"You sure aren't walking," Taichi said playfully, plopping down next to Yamato. "You're worried about something, na? Won't you tell Taichi what the problem is? Maybe Taichi can help!"  
Yamato turned to Taichi, his blue eyes ice-cold.

"Leave me alone, Yagami."

Taichi didn't even flinch. He continued to smile that goofy smile of his, ready to listen in case Yamato was ready to spill out his deepest and darkest secrets to him.

"Get lost, Yagami."

Taichi still smiled and waited.

"GET LOST!!!"

A punch was thrown into that sweet smiling face. That smile was mocking him. It was telling him that Taichi is kind, that he loved him as his best friend while Yamato ran off to be by himself and blood over the fact that he was envious of his friend. Taichi ducked as he stumbled back, looking a bit frustrated. He took hold of Yamato's wrists.

"Ishida Yamato, what are you..."

"Let me go! Leave me alone! Why won't you just leave me alone?!"

"I was just worried..."

"None of your business! Please mind your own business!"

Yamato could tell that Taichi was starting to be angry. It was always like this. Taichi would be worried about him, and Yamato would just snap at him, which would lead to bloody fist fights between the two youngsters. Yamato hated it, yet he enjoyed screaming at the brunette. It made him feel equal to Taichi, in some twisted way. He had the right to punch him, to insult him, to hurt him. Wasn't that good enough?

"Yamato! Why are you always..."

"Get lost, Yagami, before I pound the light out of you!"

Yamato was startled when Taichi did not punch him and yell at him. Instead, he let go of the blond and looked at him with an odd expression.

"...you never let me in."

With that strange remark, Taichi was gone, leaving Yamato to fall down to his knees and sob.

Taichi deeply sighed as he walked away from the lake, leaving his friend to continue to mope and bitch about the world. He just couldn't understand it. Sometimes he would see affection in the blonde's eyes... but as soon as he tried to reach out and take hold of that warmth, Yamato will back away. Why? Why wasn't he allowed to be friend with Yamato?

"Idiot Yamato. I hate him."

Taichi glared at a passive tree and punched it. Leaves of the tree shook and started to fall down on him like dry green rain droplets. He pressed his forehead against the trunk, muttering curses under his breath.

"Yamato... Why do you hate me...?"

* * * * *

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Whatever it is that makes you feel pain, it'll be better to forget about them.

Silence. The other chosen children eyed the older Yagami and Ishida uneasily. Taichi was overly cheerful and Yamato was overly quiet, which meant they had a serious fight. 

"And then, Agumon suddenly fell down! I was all surprised. And when I asked him if he was all right, he announced that he was hungry!"

Taichi started to laugh, the laughter sounding more like he was choking then he was enjoying himself. Yamato stood up and walked away from the group. Gabumon gave a worried look to Taichi before following Yamato. Silence settled down the campsite before Taichi desperately tried to break it again.

"When I yelled at Agumon, he said that his system operated by recharging! Hahaha, like battery, you know?"

Agumon trotted over to Taichi to settle on his lap, wordlessly comforting him. Taichi's eyes wavered, but he continued to wear that mask of fake smile.

* * * * *

Yamato dunked his head into the lake water, then shook the water out of his hair. Gabumon silently regarded him not too far away.

"I hate myself."

Yamato lowered his head until strands of golden locks covered his eyes.

"Selfish, weak, envious, vain... It would have been better if I was not a chosen... If I wasn't granted the crest of friendship... Of all things..."

The fisted hands clenched dirt tightly. The dirt felt wet and slimy, somehow matching the feeling that Yamato was having at the moment.

"Why do I feel this way? Why do I hate him so much? Taichi is... my one and only friend, my best friend, the one whom I trust the most! Yet..."

He lifted his head to stare at Gabumon, his eyes glassy with unshed tears.

"...I'm so sorry..."

Gabumon then moved, walking to stand behind Yamato's turned back and gently hug him from the behind. Hot liquid from his friend's face fell to his paws, but he chose not to comment on it.

* * * * *

Taichi collapsed on to the floor of the tent, tired after overworking himself. He had laughed and worked until sheer exhaustion forced him to stop thinking, stop feeling pain.

"Yamato-jerk. I know I'm an obnoxious pain in the butt, but I'm an obnoxious pain in the butt that wants to be with you. No matter where you are, I'll come to you if you call out to me. Even though I'm still weak... I want to protect everyone! Want to... be strong enough to be friends with you..."

Taichi furiously rubbed at his eyes, pushing back the tears of frustration that threatened to spill over. Agumon placed his paws on Taichi's lap.

"...you know, Taichi, if you wanna cry, it's okay to cry. I won't call you weak..."

Taichi stared at his partner, then embraced him tightly as he started to sob quietly.

"So... sorry... I'll be strong tomorrow, so... for today... Agumon..."

* * * * *

Tsuzuku

I still love "Butterfly" by Wada Kouji, despite all these new animes out there. ^^;; I always wanted to do a Taito, but never quite brought myself to write one until now... I started to watch Digimon when I was a freshling at high school, and I still like Taito, despite the years that passed between then and now. I remember back then I would always write "Taichi" in his _kanji(Chinese characters)_ name and "Yamato" with _katakana(additional Japanese alphabets)_... *laughs* This was a story that had been sitting on my notebook for few months. I thought I might as well as edit and put it up. Probably cliched and weak, but it was a lot of fun to write. ^^;; 


	2. Hirogette Miyou yo!

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Note: The anime/manga series "Digital Monsters" belong to Toei Animations, Bendai, etc. The author claims no right to neither the production nor the sales of the said anime. The fan fiction is written purely for non-profit fan purposes.

This fan fiction takes place during "Digital Monster Adventures 01". There is a light shounen-ai atmosphere in this fan fiction. If you are repulsed by the thought that Taichi and Yamato liking each other, please stay away from this fan fiction. 

* * * * *

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From now on, there is no time left to waste.

"What do you mean by you're leaving?!"

Cold blue eyes regarded the brown ones that were filled with confusion, frustration, and... something else that Yamato could not quite read.

"It'll be better this way, won't it? Because I'm always a bother, and..."

"Cut out the crap! You're an important..."

"And others are getting uneasy because we constantly argue. It'll be better to separate."

Taichi stared at Yamato as he turned around and started to walk away, Gabumon obediently following his partner.

"...Wait a second, Ishida! Hold it! Oi! Yamato-tte baaa!"

A hand grasped Yamato's wrist, preventing any further movement forward.

"Yagami..."

"But Yamato, you can't leave like this! We're a team, aren't we?! It's dangerous to go around alone, and..."

"Which is none of your concern. Gabumon and I can handle things quite well ourselves."

"Mou, that's not the point here!"

"Then what is?!"

"Look, we don't have the time to waste by arguing like this, okay?! Just..."

Agumon and Gabumon tensed, pulling the two boys back.

"It's dangerous..."

Suddenly the area around them twisted, turning into pieces of data that quickly started to evaporate.

"What the?!"

Yamato and Taichi yelped as the ground underneath them lost its configuration, and they were tossed into the air, then into black pit that was seemingly endless. 

"Yamato!"

"Taichi!"

Agumon and Gabumon jumped after their human friends, and the four clutched each other tightly as they fell.

* * * * *

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What is 'wow' supposed to be meant? We'll reach the top of this sky, won't we?

Taichi rolled over.

"This sucks."

Yamato stirred the fire with a stick, staring at the burning wood rather then agreeing or disagreeing with his friend. Around them was desolate landscape, and above them was a sky with big black hole in the middle of it, where they had fallen from. Agumon and Gabumon were busy stuffing themselves with food, 'in case an emergency forces them to digi-volve'. Except for some fruit trees that so kindly granted the digimon their food, the area was austere.

"I wonder how we got in here... But it's a good thing that I came early in the morning to find you, and we were the only ones to have fallen here, na? It would have been horrible if Hikari or Takeru had fallen here, too."

Yamato remained silent. Taichi yet again attempted to make a decent conversation with his rather unresponsive companion.

"Naaa, Yamato, do you think we'll be able to get out of here? If not, I'll have to get stuck with you for the rest of my life, and then we'll both be old men, and..."

A fist was thrown at Taichi's face.

"Itaaa! Yamato, just what..."

"Will you shut UP?!"

Yamato glared at Taichi before his face crumbled and he slowly fell to the ground, drawing himself into a ball.

"What if... What if we can never go back? What if I can never see Takeru again? I was never a good brother, and now... I'll never get a chance to! I was mean to father and mother because I wanted them to get together again after the divorce, now I may never be able to say 'I'm sorry, I'll try to be a kinder son'... Your overly optimistic personality is really annoying! Don't you care if you never get to see Hikari again? Your parents?! You..."

Yamato's words were cut off as warm arms embraced him. Taichi gently placed his cheek against soft locks of Yamato's hair.

"But Yamato... It'll be okay for sure if it's us. Because... we'll be able to reach that sky, right? We'll be able to return for sure..."

Yamato trembled slightly as he tightly hugged Taichi back.

* * * * *

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Even so, 'wow'; I don't know what the plans for tomorrow are, either...

Yamato stretched, flexing his tensed muscles. Taichi's chocolate-colored eyes observed the horizon, where the Sun started to set.

"So?"

"...ari?"

"It's not 'ari?'! Plan, plan! You have a plan, do you not?"

"...anou sa. Am I supposed to have one?"

"...Yagami, don't tell me you gave me all those confident words when you had just about as much idea as me on how to get out of here!"

"We can worry about that tomorrow. Shouldn't we worry more about finding a place to sleep for today? Wild digimon can attack us if we just stay out in the open like this, you know."

Yamato stopped his advance on Taichi, thus stopping his attempt to strangle his friend. He pondered Taichi's words, then nodded.

"...it is as you say."

Taichi grinned.

"Hey, you actually agreed with what I said. That felt so... good, you know? Like we're closer friends and all?"

"Cut out stupid things, Taichi..."

Taichi did not notice the blush that crept across Yamato's face as the boy turned away from him.

* * * * *

"It's cold."

Yamato shivered as he tried to back further into the wall of the cave.

"It's really cold in here..."

Gabumon hesitated, then started,

"Anou, Yamato, if my coat will suffice..."

"No."

"But Yamato..."

"I don't want to take care of a sick digimon. I really don't."

Gabumon lowered his head.

"...sorry, I can't do anything for you..."

Yamato looked upset.

"Look, you have to stop taking everything I say so seriously..."

"Yamato!"

Gabumon and Yamato looked outside the cave to see Taichi and Agumon, their arms full of woods.

"This should be enough for the night, right?"

"Even if it isn't, it's too cold and this stuff is too heavy! I'm hungry!"

"Oi, Agumon, you ate so much just few hours ago!"

"Exactly!"

The four burst into laughter at that. Soon the fire was lit and the cave was warmed considerably. Taichi glanced at Yamato, then frowned as concern crossed his face.

"...Yamato, you're shivering. Are you still cold?"

Yamato shook his head, trying to stop his body from shaking. He yelped as Taichi's hands grasped his waist, pulling the other boy into his lap and placing his arms around Yamato's stomach. Yamato tensed as Taichi's chin rested on top of his head.

"There, it's better, right?"

"...Yagami..."

"Oh shush up. I don't want to take care of a sick, cranky blonde. I really don't."

Gabumon started to chuckle while Yamato sulked. Taichi and Agumon looked at each other, confusion written on their faces. Yamato slowly relaxed against the welcoming warmth. The four snuggled against each other and soon fell asleep.

* * * * *

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After the hurtful dream, inside the nothingness...

"Yamato, why didn't you come?"

Yamato stared in horror at Taichi. Taichi was on the floor, his face twisted with pain. Wounds covered his body as blood stained the ground underneath him. Taichi's huge white wings were cruelly ripped away from his back, leaving the boy with two large rips down his back. Feathers floated everywhere, raining down and covering Taichi's bloody body.

"Until the last minute... I was waiting for you... Even when you left me, I believed in you..."

Taichi shook his head.

"No, I still believe in you, even now... We're friends, right? We'll always be together... Even... though you didn't come and the digital world will be destroyed now, you... didn't mean it, right? You were just scared... It's not that you didn't come because you hated me; it was that you were afraid to die, right?"

Taichi started to cough up blood, then reached out a hand stained with blood to Yamato.

"Poor thing..."

Yamato stared at Taichi, his blue eyes filled with disgust for himself and fear of the future. He stumbled back, then turned and ran away. Tears were pouring down his eyes, blurring his vision.

'No, this was not my wish... I did want to be acknowledged by everyone, but I did not want Taichi to be hurt... To leave him like this... My true wish was...'

* * * * *

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Right, it seemed like our most precious feelings would be lost, too, but...

"IYAAAAA!!!"

"Yamato! Yamato! Wake up! Stop it! It's only a dream! Come back to me! Yamato!"

Yamato's eyes snapped open, then focused on Taichi. He suddenly pulled Taichi down, hugging him tightly.

"Ya... Yamato?"

"Thank goodness... Taichi... You're okay... Taichi... I'm so sorry... Didn't mean to... But... I'll never leave you alone again like that... I'll come back to you no matter what, so... Don't die..."

Taichi's eyes widened, then softened as he hugged Yamato back gingerly.

"...it's okay. It was only a bad dream, Yamato. I won't leave you. Yamato... I'm here, so... I won't die, so..."

* * * * *

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Even though these are unstable wings are tainted with images that would stay,

we'll be able to fly for sure! On my love...

Yamato tightly held on to Taichi's hand as Garurumon paced nervously.

"...we don't know what'll happen to us when we pass through that hole, right?"

"Right, even though it was okay for us to fall through that sky, we might be transcribed as bits of data and disappear when we try to go out through it. Koushirou is not here, so we have no way of knowing what will happen when we go through."

Taichi grinned.

"But hey, we can't just sit here. And we most definitely don't have any other option, right?"

Yamato nodded, biting his lower lip slightly.

"Don't let go of the hand. Since... you're going to be scared, right?"

"Yeah right. It's more like the other way around."

Yamato turned around to smile at Taichi. Taichi's eyes widened as he watched the ultramarine blue-colored eyes lighting up as well. Taichi stared at Yamato for few seconds, captured by that beautiful smile, before grinning widely back. The hand on Yamato tightened its grip slightly.

"Friends forever, right?"

"Yeah, even if we get reconfigured into bits of digimon food."

"Cynical bastard."

"You're just too optimistic, that's all."

Agumon gently patted Garurumon's head, leaning down to whisper into his friend's ear.

"...at least they finally became more honest to their feelings, ne?"

Garurumon smiled before backing up slightly.

"Then I'm flying up. Everyone, please hold on to me as tightly as you can."

Taichi, Yamato, and Agumon tensed as Garurumon spread out his wings and started to fly towards the hole. As the hole got closer and closer, Taichi and Yamato tightened their grip on each other. 

"Even if my wings are still fragile, Yamato... we'll be able to fly for sure, na?"

Yamato looked surprised. Taichi turned to smile at Yamato.

"You'll fly with me, won't you?"

Yamato brightly smiled.

"Aa!"

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Even though these wings are fragile, we'll be able to fly for sure... On... My... Love...

Owari

Finished on 5/6/2003. ...it didn't turn out the way I wanted to at all, but then again... I sat down in front of the computer, only remotely thinking that I'll do a fan fiction based on "Butterfly"(1st season opening theme), so... ^^;; Nn, this will probably be my first and last Digimon fan fiction to see the light of the world. Others are too horrible; they're not even worth editing and posting... *bows* Thank you to all the reviewers! May wings of freedom find you, too.


End file.
